This invention relates in general to equipment and accessories for sewing machines, and more particularly to a work guide apparatus for a sewing machine that can be used for performing various tacking and pleating sizing and other operations.
In the prior art, especially in the manufacture of draperies, tacking and pleating sewing operations have been performed with the work piece being guided by hand and after the stitching path had been marked, and with the aid of pinning or staples.
While certain accessory equipment, such as represented by U.S. Pat. No. 2,209,371 to E. C. Zablocki and U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,886 to L. Schwartz, have been devised for performing special sewing operations, such equipment is of little use in performing the variety of controlled stitching operations required in the manufacture of pleated drapes.
The work guide apparatus of the subject invention has guide means that are attached to a base surface of the sewing machine, and a plate moveable in guided engagement with the guide means. This plate serves to carry a work piece along a corresponding path of motion with respect to the needle path of the sewing machine. Adjustable stop means operate to limit the movement of the plate at a selected position along its movement path to correspondingly limit the stitching length effected by the sewing machine needle. Movement of the plate is accomplished by an operator holding the work piece against the plate and pushing. Gauge means extending across the plate accommodate positioning portions of the work piece in a selected spatial relation to a reference line on the plate to thereby control the location of the stitching effected by the needle.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the gauge means is connected to the plate for support thereby and movement therewith, and includes two adjustable gauges, one for pleating and another for spacing pleats.
The plate has an elongated slot accommodating the extension therethrough of the sewing machine needle.
Expediently, the stop means includes a stop bar supported in overlying relation to the plate and a contact member carried by the plate and disposed for engagement with the stop bar to arrest the plate against further forward movement. A frame is provided with multiple, spaced holding means to receive the stop bar and support it in a variety of preselected positions, which preferably correspond to standard stitching lengths.
The gauge means and stop means together enable an operator to make a given combination of pleat depth, inter-pleat space, and length settings, and then merely advance the work on the plate repeatedly, setting the work against the gauges for each successive pleat, in order to get a drape product in which the pleats are of uniformly good quality.
For a better understanding of the invention and its several advantages, reference should be had to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which together exemplify a preferred embodiment of the invention.